I was born an alien
       in the home of the free-for-some
       land of the brave
an attribute stolen
from my neatly folded hands
as I started my first day of school

frosty eyes floating in a milky sea
braided brown hair
i blended in with the others 
however, when i opened my mouth
i spoke a foreign tongue
      native to me
and as i rolled my R's
      my favorite skill to show
they rolled their eyes i could tell

when we learned our ABC's
and the teacher asked
how many letters there were
     confidently, I said 27
laughs of my peers rang
in my freshly pierced ears
      ashamed, I sank into my seat

on the last day of school
when the teacher asked me
if a cat got my tongue
       I told her I no longer had one --